NRL Judiciary: Hetherington cops one-match ban for Mahoney blowup
Newcastle Knights front-row enforcer Jack Hetherington has entered an early guilty plea to a Grade 2 Contrary Conduct charge following Sunday’s NRL match against the Bulldogs at Accor Stadium.
He accepted the one-match suspension instead of fighting the charge with the possibility of missing two games.
“The reason Jack Hetherington was charged with a Grade 2 offence was a combination of what happened on the field and what took place in the tunnel, and that’s why he was charged with a higher grade,” NRL head of football Graham Annesley said on Monday.
“There is no circumstance where what happened yesterday is acceptable, and Jack Hetherington is just fortunate that it didn’t develop into anything more serious.”
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The on-field incident with Hetherington occurred in the 77th minute when he and Canterbury Bulldogs hooker Reed Mahoney became entangled in a scuffle mid-tackle that led to both being sent to the sin bin.
Mahoney also faces a $1000 fine with an early guilty plea after being hit with a Contrary Conduct charge.
No fewer than six players have been hit with Grade 1 Dangerous Contact charges, with five of those accepting fines after early guilty pleas.
Roosters captain James Tedesco will cough up $750 for tripping Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen; Gold Coast’s Jaimin Jolliffe, Parramatta’s Bryce Cartwright and Sydney’s Jared Waerea-Hargreaves must all pay $1800 as repeat offenders; and Wests Tigers halfback Aidan Sezer is $3000 out of pocket for his third offence.
Bulldogs halfback Drew Hutchison is facing a fine of up to $1000 for tripping Knights back-rower Kai Pearce-Paul, while teammate Jaeman Salmon faces a $1500 fine for a crusher tackle.